Four Ways To Beat Anxiety by A. Downey
Four Ways To Beat Anxiety by A. Downey
Snippets:
ANYONE who suffers from anxiety will tell you it is crippling and can take over your life.
…Anxiety disorders can develop as a result of a number of factors, including stress, genetics and childhood environment.
Luckily, there are some things you can do to manage the condition and even beat it for good, Olivia Remes, a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, writes for The Conversation.
“It can appear out of the blue as a panic attack, when sudden spikes of anxiety make you feel like you’re about to have a heart attack, go mad or lose control,” she said.
“Or it can be present all the time, as in generalised anxiety disorder, when diffuse and pervasive worry consumes you and you look to the future with dread.
“Most people experience it at some point, but if anxiety starts interfering with your life, sleep, ability to form relationships, or productivity at work or school, you might have an anxiety disorder.
“Research shows that if it’s left untreated, anxiety can lead to depression, early death and suicide.
“And while it can indeed lead to such serious health consequences, the medication that is prescribed to treat anxiety doesn’t often work in the long-term.
“Symptoms often return and you’re back where you started.”
So how can you beat anxiety and become mentally strong?
1. Do it badly
This may seem a little strange, but if your anxiety means you find it hard to make decisions or start a new project then do it but do it badly.
The theory is based on something writer and poet GK Chesterton said: “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.”
“The reason this works so well is that it speeds up your decision-making process and catapults you straight into action,” Olivia said.
“Otherwise, you could spend hours deciding how you should do something or what you should do, which can be very time-consuming and stressful.
“People often want to do something “perfectly” or to wait for the “perfect time” before starting.
“But this can lead to procrastination, long delays or even prevent us from doing it at all. And that causes stress – and anxiety.
“Instead, why not just start by ‘doing it badly’ and without worrying about how it’s going to turn out.
“More often than not, you’ll also discover that you’re not doing it that badly after all – even if you are, you can always fine tune it later.”
2. Be kind to yourself
Try not to be critical of yourself or the mistakes you make.
Try not to be critical of yourself or the mistakes you make.
If you had a friend that did that to you then you’d want them out of your life pretty quickly, so why should anxiety be able to do the same?
“People with anxiety often do this to themselves so frequently that they don’t even realise it anymore. They’re just not kind to themselves,” writes Olivia.
“So perhaps it’s time to change and start forgiving ourselves for the mistakes we make.
“If you feel like you’ve embarrassed yourself in a situation, don’t criticise yourself – simply realise that you have this impulse to blame yourself, then drop the negative thought and redirect your attention back to the task at hand or whatever you were doing.”
3. Wait to worry …
… 4. Help others
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